If the Giants are all thinking like Antrel Rolle, they are going to be a feisty, combative bunch some Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

The ultra-confident safety is not exactly treading lightly when it comes to what awaits the Giants, starting with a meeting with Tom Brady, Wes Welker and the Patriots to begin a grueling five-game stretch against some of the NFL’s elite.

“I don’t worry about our schedule,’’ Rolle said yesterday with a trace of defiance. “I think our schedule needs to worry about us.’’

Rolle kept that theme rolling when he added, “I look at it as we understand what we have coming up, we understand the opponents we have to face, but at the same time, hopefully they understand the opponent they have to face.’’

Rolle did not like one bit the suggestion this game is a mismatch — both teams are 5-2, yet the Patriots are 8 1/2-point favorites.

If there is a mismatch in this clash, it could be Eli Manning and the Giants’ passing offense against what the Pats put on the field attempting to stop the pass. If there is any team for Manning to open up against, it’s the Patriots, who are last in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 323.1 yards per game.

Asked if he feels the Giants can exploit what has been a shabby New England secondary, Tom Coughlin, of course, didn’t bite on the question, but he also didn’t wax poetic about what he’s seen from the Pats’ pass defense.

“Obviously they’ve made some philosophical changes,’’ Coughlin said. “They’ve had some players that were starters that are not there, that were starters that are not starting, so on and so forth. They’ve maneuvered to try to be the best that they can be back there and of late they’ve settled on a certain style and would assume they’re still trying to work in that area, as we all are in the areas that we’re not very good at.’’

Indeed, the Patriots earlier this season had virtually no success working in man coverage and have since adopted more of a zone scheme. Their top cornerback, Devin McCourty from Rutgers, is a good player not having an especially good season. Last week they abruptly cut veteran cornerback Leigh Bodden, which was a surprise considering the cornerback depth left behind (Antwaun Molden and Phillip Adams) is not very inspiring. Molden was actually benched in last week’s 25-17 loss in Pittsburgh.

The Giants might not be at full strength to go against the Pats’ secondary, as Hakeem Nicks (hamstring) yesterday did not practice and Mario Manningham (illness) also sat out. That left Victor Cruz and Ramses Barden — who will likely come off the Physically Unable to Perform list this week — to work as the starting receivers.

Last week, the Patriots, as usual, were victimized in the secondary, with Ben Roethlisberger tossing 50 passes and amassing 356 yards.

“It’s surprising because you never seem to coincide that with the Patriots, they’ve always had a great defense and their secondary was always tops in the league,’’ Cruz said. “They’re going through a phase right now where they’re having some trouble defending the pass. Looking at film we see some opportunities where we can take advantage of that.’’

Manning, enjoying the most torrid stretch of his career, said the dead-last ranking for the Patriots in pass defense is more a product of how Brady’s offense secures big leads than ineptitude in the secondary.

“They do jump out on teams, with their offense they score early on so they get a lead, forces teams to throw the ball and the Patriots are sitting back in some two-deep and playing soft,’’ Manning said. “They’re giving up yards, but teams are not getting in there and scoring touchdowns always.’’

Not always, but often enough. The Giants repeatedly say they want to be balanced and run the ball, but this may be the week to air it out.

“No. 10 for us, he’s been playing at a high level, he’s been very careful with the things he’s done and at times he’s been very aggressive in the things he’s done, which makes him such a great quarterback,’’ Rolle said. “Our offense is going to take care of business.’’